


It's complicated...

by bansheehime



Category: Naruto
Genre: Chuunin Exams, F/M, Kirigakure | Hidden Mist Village, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 09:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15578625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bansheehime/pseuds/bansheehime
Summary: Kiba figured he'd become a distinguished shinobi and marry a nice girl from Konoha in order to continue his clan. He'd never imagined that a simple old Chūnin Exam would lead him in the path of a deadly kunoichi. She was a lily of the valley and he knew enough about the flower - you stayed away. Unfortunately, she'd already stopped his heart. Kiba/OC main





	1. The marshes called home

**So, here is a baby of mine.**

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**Out of everything I've ever written, I believe that I've spent the most time on my Naruto OCs. After all, I'm from the generation which grew up with this anime. So, as this has been a story which was voted as the second most sought-after of my new work, I've decided to put a chapter up and see how it goes.**

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**About the story:**

**Timeline: Beginning of the original Naruto show**

**Pairing: Kiba/OC as main**

**Rating: T**

**Updates: Slow**

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**Enjoy the ride**

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**Chapter 1: The marshes called home**

In retrospect, I'd had a great life.

I suppose I should be grateful, to be able to say something like that. After all, not many shinobi can connect the words 'great' and 'life'. Most of them don't even live long enough to get to the point when they think about their life. No. The life of a shinobi normally goes somewhat like this: Tragic childhood, harsh training, harsher missions, brutal orders, quick marriage, kids, death. And this is a lucky shinobi's life that I'm telling you about. So, yes, I'd had one hell of a good ride.

I was born on a strangely warm day of October, and my mother always told me how she remembered hearing crickets all through her labor and then silence once that last of her screams died down, just before I took my first breath and cried. She'd given me my name, Mei, a sprout, then. It was a good name, my grandmother had always said. A very good name.

The early years of my life were filled with laughter, running, and joy. My parents traveled all over the country with a caravan, living out of a wagon. I remember the sunny days, the freezing winters and the rainy seasons as they changed and I aged without many worries in the world. I can still recall the scent of spring, a combination of fresh grass, wildflowers and pure sunlight, my home. If you asked me to imagine paradise, I would direct you to those days. After all, they were like a picture from a fairy tale book, one of those my father often read to me.

My father. Well, my father was a difficult topic. He was a man of principles who believed in good education and healthy lifestyle more than anything. Yet, there was a certain boyishness always around him. An adventurer's spirit. He would be serious often, when he consulted with the leaders of the caravan on important matters, and smiling lopsidedly at my mother the next, when he was planning yet another escapade into the unknown wilderness.

I suppose that that was the thing which drew my mother to him. My mother came from an island in Mizu no Kuni, a dark and damp place, as she described it. Her parents were healers, closely tied to the shinobi nation, and they were widely known for their policy of accepting any patient of any nation into their Temple. My mother had grown up there, in the mist, surrounded by water on all four sides, the furthest thing which she could see on the horizon (which wasn't too far due to the mist) being the next island over.

Needless to say, she'd been eager to throw away the bloody apron and bandages in favor of following my father on his journey across the world. She'd found another use for her skilled, surgical fingers: embroidery. Even now, I can remember all the times when the caravan would travel and my mother would be sitting on the edge of our wagon, humming a tune to herself and pushing the needle in and out of a new project.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

It was after my fourth birthday, I'm not sure exactly when, that the sickness spread through the caravan. Lung flu, they'd called it. I remember the way my mother had panicked. I remember the fear in her eyes as she begged my father to split our wagon away from the caravan. I will never be able to forget the way her hands had squeezed at the fabric of my father's tunic, pulling it so hard that I thought it would rip the delicate embroidery she'd been sewing there in half. I still sometimes dream of the way she'd sobbed later, holding me close, in our bed.

I'd never seen my mother scared before that day.

My father hadn't allowed us to split from the caravan. He was the second son of the leader, the owner. He needed to stay and to fulfill his duty. There were rules about illness. Besides, a caravan always stays together.

It took a week for most of the elderly and children to get sick. And yet another for the animals to begin dying. I buried my first pet, a small stray dog I'd picked up, on the side of the road when we stopped. His name had been Jun. Then, it wasn't just dogs and goats anymore. There were fewer and fewer friendly old ladies telling stories or teaching you to read someone's future from their hands sitting by the fires at night. There were fewer babies crying at night, waking up the new parents. There were fewer children kicking and tossing a rag ball around the wagons.

I met Death when I turned five.

The sickness stayed with the caravan for months, and we couldn't shake it off. When I coughed for the very first time, my mother had had enough. She'd packed her belongings in a single bag and grabbed me, telling my father that he could choose to follow her or his duty. He'd chosen her.

By the time we arrived to Mizu no Kuni, I was delirious. I was sweaty, fading in and out of consciousness, and everything hurt. I'd beg for my mother, for my father, for Jun, the adorable mutt, and anything else. Anything for the pain to stop. I remember that I'd coughed so many times. It felt like I was drowning at some points. And at others, like I'd never drunk water in my life.

I awoke one day, to the gentle rocking of a boat, surrounded by mist. And then, I knew that we'd come to my mother's homeland. It was just as she'd described. Dark, gloomy and eerie in a way. Like Death. My mother had held me close, murmuring words of reassurance, as the helmsman with a red cap (like a lantern in the mist) pushed the small gondola boat seemingly into nowhere. Then, slowly, a tall, dark shape had risen from the white and grey mist, like a stern old man looking down on you, scolding you, and I knew: we'd arrived.

Teichi no Shima looked like Hell.

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The alarm blared in the room, but the bed was already empty. The petite girl stumbled out of the adjacent bathroom, hurrying to press the button on the top of the small blue machine, to keep it quiet. As soon as the room was quiet once more, except the subtle sounds of the world waking up outside, she listened for a second, checking if anyone else had been awoken in the house.

Complete silence.

The girl smiled to herself and turned around, tracing her wet footprints back to the bathroom. She would need to wipe those as soon as she finished her bath.

It was five in the morning on Teichi no Shima, a small island located in Mizu no Kuni. It would've been a beautiful, vacation-worthy place, with its indigenous species and beautiful sceneries, if it had not been located so close to the Numa no Kuni. This meant that the little island was surrounded by thick marshes, covered in swamp gas and grey mist, all year round. It was only if you climbed all the way to the top of the sole mountain, far above the Shitchi Temple, that you could see above the mist.

And that brings us to where this young, early rising, girl lived. Shitchi Temple. Known for its impressive healer and owner, the traditionally built structure was located on the eastern side of the mountain, nestled safely between a steep cliff and its waterfall and a forest full of poisonous insects and amphibians. There weren't many who made the trip to the Temple, but those who did were in dire need of medical attention. It was widely known that everyone was welcome in this house of healing, regardless of their nationality or allegiance, and since the Island was located near the border of Numa no Kuni, most government officials didn't bother with extraction. Long story short, it was a sanctuary.

The adjacent bathroom door opened once more, revealing the petite girl, this time dressed in her white undergarments. She had her long hair swept up in a towel turban as she avoided the puddles that she had created earlier. She quickly grabbed a simple dress from her wardrobe, one that her grandmother would definitely disapprove of for its shortness, and slid it over her head. She then grabbed the rag from the bathroom and quickly mopped up the water from her bedroom floor. After her work was done, she smiled and sighed, happy with the results.

She walked about her simple room, collecting different things and packing them into her bag as she got ready to leave. At some point, she released her wet hair, rubbing it carefully with the towel and then leaving it to air-dry. Unfortunately, due to the humidity of the region, she knew that she would have to blow-dry it in the end. It took her around thirty minutes to get everything that she needed together, and she was about to leave her room when she stopped in the doorway. Quickly, the petite girl turned around, rushing to her desk. She opened the middle drawer and took out a green, hardcover notebook stuffing it into her beige bag as well. Then, she left.

The hallway outside of her room was lit with small lanterns placed symmetrically on each side of the path, where old-fashioned candles used to be just last year. Her grandmother and grandfather had always loved history and had kept the old Temple as close to its original form as it had been safe to do. Yet, when a fire had broken out due to one of the candle flames catching the wooden wall, the owners of the old home had decided to take their granddaughter's advice and introduce electricity to the large construction. Though, her grandmother still loved using a candle to light her way when she was up late. And the girl couldn't deny her that.

She navigated the winding halls of the Temple easily in the dim lighting, as she knew them by heart. It had been seven years since she'd come to live there, after all. And in that time, she'd learnt to love everything about the marshy land, from the stale air, heavy with fog, to the poisonous insects and amphibians, flying and jumping about. It was a strange place, Shitchi Temple, as you felt like you were in another world entirely while you were there. You would slowly forget the sunshine on your skin directly, and the only way you could imagine the sun was through the thick fog surrounding the island and the mountain on it. The warm, summer breeze carrying the scent of wildflowers wouldn't even cross your mind, instead, you would think of the cool, moist shifting of the mist, telling you that something was moving nearby, watching its prey silently. Yet, the young girl had learnt to love the damp and dark corner of the world, mostly for the people who lived there. If there was one thing which this early-riser did  _not_  lack, it was love.

She reached the kitchen and the dining room, a broad space separated by a simple sliding door, normally left open. Her beige shoulder beg made a muffled thumping sound when she lowered it to the floor in order to make some breakfast. It was a few minutes later, when the second helping of bacon was sizzling on the hot pan, that silent footsteps alerted her to a newcomer.

"Good morning, Mei-chan." A female voice softly greeted and soon, its owner stepped behind the counter and into the kitchenette. "Would you like some help?" It was a fairly tall girl, if you compared her to the petite Mei. She wore a traditional yukata, perfectly tied together without a single wrinkle in the material. If you asked Mei, she was often jealous of the other girl's skill. That was why Mei had forgone wearing the traditional garb as soon as she'd began commuting – it would get terribly wrinkled.

The only thing on the traditionally garbed girl which seemed wild was her hair. It was a vibrant red and it lay in untamable curls around her pale face, cascading down her shoulders. She had tried everything with it, Mei knew, from straightening it with product to tying it in a tight bun on top of her head. Yet, there was always at least one rebellious curl which escaped onto her face or neck.

"Of course." The petite girl, Mei, replied with an easy smile. "Could you get the eggs ready for me?"

"Sure." The other girl replied and then proceeded to rummage about the drawers, her curls bouncing, looking for everything she needed.

"Did you have a long night, Kaede?" Mei asked conversationally, flipping the bacon and then placing it on the plate where the rest of it was. The other girl, Kaede, sighed, coming closer with a bowl. She was mixing the eggs inside it already with a quick motion of her wrist.

"There were some newcomers last week." She explained in a tired tone. "There was a battle between two smaller shinobi clans in their area. The ones that managed to make the journey have been really touch-and-go." She turned the bowl over, spilling the eggs into Mei's awaiting pan. "And with your Grandfather on one of his trips, we've been shorthanded and really swamped."

Mei couldn't suppress the small chuckle at the unintentional pun, which caused the other girl to let out a small laugh, as well. The eggs were flipped a couple of times before finding their way onto a plate, as well. And then, the two girls began setting up the dining table for three people with practiced ease.

"I'm sorry that I'm not much help." Mei said as she handed the plates from the cupboard to her friend. "It's just, with both school and missions, I don't have much time for individual study, much less helping out."

"It's alright, Mei-chan." Kaede replied. "I completely understand the situation. Though, I do think that your Grandmother should get another pair of hands to help out on a daily basis. Ever since you started the Academy we've been terribly busy."

"Then perhaps we shall hire someone." An old, yet firm voice answered from behind the girls and Kaede squinted at being caught.

"Forgive me, sensei." She immediately apologized. "I meant no offense." Mei's grandmother laughed an easy chuckle. She was a short woman, like her granddaughter, with a wiry frame hardened by her lifestyle in the mountains. Her hair had gone white in age, still completely straight as the day she was born, and it fell down her back in a long, intricate braid. Mei had always wished to have hair like her grandmother, perfectly straight and terribly long. Alas, hers always seemed as if it was made from freshly collected hay.

"Dear girl, there was none taken." Her slender hand came up to Kaede's cheek, giving it a loving caress. "What would I do if I didn't have the two of you to keep me young?" Then, the old healer grabbed the last of the plates with food with a swish of her long robes, helping the two girls. "So, shall we eat? No good morning starts without a breakfast!"

"Of course, grandma."

"Yes, sensei." The two chorused and then, the small family seated themselves at the dining table. Mei dug into her meal, savoring the taste. She had become closely acquainted with both of her teammates' cooking in the last two years, which had caused her to sorely miss the home cooking at the Shitchi Temple. Kaede chuckled into her glass of milk before speaking up.

"You  _do_  know that the food won't run away, don't you, Mei-chan?" The petite teen had to struggle to swallow her huge bite before answering, though.

"It just might." She smirked. Then, Mei proceeded to shovel the eggs and bacon into her mouth as quickly as she could. Finally, she drank her milk and jumped up from her seat. "Thank you for the meal!" Mei reached to gather her dishes, but her grandmother waved her away.

"Don't worry, Mei, dear, Kaede and I will clean up. You hurry up and catch your ferry." The old woman smiled, her warm eyes twinkling.

"Thank you, grandma." And the teen ran to her room once more. By the time she was back, the dining table had been cleaned and Kaede was making food for their patients while her grandmother was placing something in Mei's bag.

"There you are." The old healer immediately noticed her, without even looking up. "Would you come here, Mei, dear?" Then, the woman made her turn around before undoing her hair from the tight bun it had been in. "Let's get this sorted before you leave, shall we?" And the grandmother started braiding her granddaughter's long hair into a braid, similar to her own, yet much thicker. "You have your father's, strong hair." She lovingly said as she was working her skilled fingers through the knots.

"You mean my father's bushy hair?" Mei laughed, turning around when her grandmother tapped her shoulder. She took her beige bag when her guardian offered it to her with a smile still on her face.

"Take care, my young troublemaker." Her grandmother pulled her in with a gentle tug, kissing the crown of her head lovingly. "Be careful in the marshes and remember to stay hydrated." With that, the healer pushed Mei towards the door. "Off with you, young pupil. Go learn your kunoichi skills."

"Bye!" And Mei flew out the door with a final wave to her grandmother and Kaede. The outside air greeted her with a stifling punch to her lungs. But, after one deep breath, the petite girl pushed on. She stepped off the wooden patio and into her sandals, still in protective socks, carefully clipping the straps on properly. She'd once forgotten to do so and fallen into a pond during a mission. Since then, she was cautious. Soon after Mei left the patio, after she passed through a small amount of what could be called a garden around the Temple, she came upon a series of narrow, steep stone steps. Without much thought, she ran down them.

She followed the path as it wound left and right, not wanting to lose even more time on a shortcut. You see, the Shitchi Temple was surrounded by the marsh forest. Any shortcut would mean extra caution to everything you stepped on or accidentally brushed against. The forest was a wide area covered in thick vegetation with numerous poisonous species. Mei's grandmother had discovered that a number of the deadly plants could be used as medicine, as well.  _If the seed was a poison the leaf was an antidote_ , the healer would often say. She'd started her practice as a medicine woman in that very area, using the indigenous plans to make a unique school of poisons and antidotes. Combined with her knowledge of the human body, from her days as a kunoichi, Mei's grandmother had soon built a reputation for her miracle ways.

After all, no one in the village below the Shitchi Temple had ever seen a clawfish bite be cured. And yet, Mei's grandmother had managed the feat somehow. Which brings us to the denizens of the marsh. Besides the Shitchi Temple on the very top of the tall mountain, there was also a small village nestled at the bottom of the cliff. It was built partially on the muddy terrain of the island and mostly on the man-made platforms of planks which stood on numerous tall stilts and pillars that sank into the murky swamp water. It was almost like a lazy spider, swaying back and forth with every tide on its long legs.

Mei's sandals clattered against the planks as she finally reached the village. The stone steps made it almost all the way from the Temple to the platform, but she always had that last jump, over a bit of mud, to make, so that her sandals wouldn't be ruined. Not only that, but wearing sandals here meant asking for one of the locals, the venomous creatures, to bite you, even if you had protective socks on.

The young kunoichi rushed across the planks, leaving them to clatter together behind her, and she almost flew across the numerous bridges without any handrails except a thin, old rope, heading for the docks. If she missed her ferry, it would be a couple more hours of waiting, and then, she wouldn't be able to make it to the meeting with her team on time. There weren't that many people around at these hours of the morning and she managed to reach the docks without any delays.

Though, fortune wasn't on her side that day, as she finally came to the edge of the boardwalk, only to see the gangplank gone. Though, the gondola wasn't that far away, as it had obviously recently pushed off.

"Jirō-ossan!" The kunoichi yelled, making the helmsman in the red cap turn around. She tightened the grip on the strap of her beige bag and moved a few steps back. Mei knew that she had the attention of the few fishermen who were preparing for their morning trip, but she ignored them, even when they began shouting at her to stop. With a deep breath and a resolve not to fall into the water of the marshes, as that was suicide, the girl gave a short sprint.

As her feet pushed off the boardwalk she pushed a bit of chakra into the tips of her toes, giving herself an extra boost. And then, she was flying for a moment. Jirō's red cap shone like a lighthouse in the misty swamp and Mei aimed towards it. She heard his surprised yelp just as her sandals made contact with the back edge of the gondola, swaying it horribly. However, she'd already glued herself to the wood with her chakra and was safe from the venomous clawfish that lived in the marshes.

"Mei-chan!" The old helmsman exclaimed in a slightly irritated tone. "That was dangerous!" Jirō was a wrinkly, aged man, standing all the way at the back of the boat, holding a long, wooden oar. He was dressed in dirty pants that came to his knees, showing the protruding veins and hanging skin on his calves, along with a shirt that was once white, but now smeared with the grime and mud from the boat. On his head was a red cap, hanging on the side much like a Santa Claus', which signaled that he was a helmsman. "Ye know that ye shouldn't jump onto the gondola. Ye could hurt yerself and the other passengers." And the old man did not mean by a broken bone.

"I'm sorry, Jirō-ossan, it won't happen again." Apologized the girl over the grumbling of the other passengers who had been shaken by the sudden turbulence. However, both the helmsman and the kunoichi knew there would certainly be a repeat of that spectacle. Mei was, simply, often late. It was a bad habit of hers, one that she'd been trying to shake off for quite some time. Yet, despite her frequent tardiness, she'd never found herself not completing her task.

"If you fall over, a clawfish might catch ye, Mei-chan." Chided the old helmsman as the kunoichi settled down near him. "Have I told ye of the time I was manning the westchime pass? When a clawfish nearly took me leg off!" Jirō leaned over, showing an old wound on his leg. "T'was as big as me boat!" Mei nodded, encouraging him to tell her the story again, despite the collective groaning of the other passengers. True, the kunoichi could tell that the tale was mostly fiction. She knew that the old, well-healed wound on the man's leg had been from a boating accident, where he'd clipped himself with his own gutting fishknife. She could tell that her grandmother had treated it, after all. But, regardless, she enjoyed the tales the old helmsman spun about the dangers lurking in the dark marshes around the island. After all, nobody could certainly tell you if they were true or not.

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**That's all for now! I'll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts!**


	2. The well-balanced team

**Hello to all and welcome to another chapter of 'It's complicated'!**

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**Thanks to all who have given kudos and put this story into their bookmarks! I hope that you keep enjoying it. Books_1993 and frelia567 I hope that you'll keep enjoying my work!  
**

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**Chapter 2: The well-balanced team**

Mei didn't sleep that night. She almost never slept when traveling alone. However, she especially stayed awake during her commute from the Temple to Kirigakure. The roads were dangerous, sure enough, but not as much as the Teichi no Shima itself. It was something else which kept her awake, both in fear and anticipation.

Kirigakure was close. While the Mizukage might have taken steps which would be able to disprove their infamous name as the Chigiri no Sato, they were merely a front. And, she could feel it in her bones. She could feel the tension between the castes of the village pressing against each other, like a thin string, waiting to snap. Sooner or later, Mei knew, the shaky balance would break.

Her road took her by ferry first. After leaving the relative safety of Jirō's boat, she took the Sakushi no Michi, the Path of Illusion. It was a tricky road which took one over a swampy terrain, through the mist, where finding your footing was troublesome. It was fairly common for people to never leave the road after straying there. Instead, civilians preferred going by the Mizukage's highway, which took longer, but was safer.

Sakushi no Michi led Mei across the next island in record time. After it, she rode the ferryboat two more times, with a layover in the same port, and then she was on the Mainland. Usually, this trip took the longer part of the day for Mei. Once she reached the last island of her trip, she simply had to follow the main road, the continuation of the Mizukage's highway, commonly known among the locals as the Blood Road. Why? Well, let's just say that finding a body on the side of that road was a common occurrence, despite the new Headhunt law, which forbade needless bloodshed. Unfortunately, the Mainland that surrounded Kirigakure had been in the shadows of the bloodthirsty ways of the village for too long. Crime, here, was as common as merchants near other villages. So, Mei didn't sleep. Instead, she pushed herself for twenty-four hours without rest before she arrived at the gates of the hidden village.

There were no guards on the outside, as always. Kirigakure had no need for them. If you somehow managed to find it in the thick mist of the Mainland, you were free to come in and test your strength against the residents. If you had a death wish, that is. Kirigakure had no children living inside the walls. The number of civilians was low and most of them looked like ghosts in the thick fog, making you startle if you saw one. But, after years of attending the Academy and, later on, shinobi training in the village, Mei was used to the pale faces which greeted her.

She entered through the gigantic gates, mist rolling lazily around her feet, making them damp in the sandals which she preferred. She headed straight, wanting to reach the usual meeting place without much trouble. Mei could take care of herself. She knew that. But, was there any need to stir up trouble? She preferred going about her business unnoticed. After all, her status as a person from Teichi no Shima already had her labeled as an outsider and a country bumpkin. She wanted no more attention to her name.

Despite the early hour of the morning, the door to her favorite shop opened easily under her hand, without sound. She came in, the warm light making her seem less like a ghost from the mist and more like a human. The owner, an attractive lady in her thirties, looked up from behind the counter.

"Good morning." She greeted with a plastered smile that didn't seem overly honest. In another universe, with different circumstances, Mei supposed that the owner could've been a real beauty. But, much like Mei herself, the mist had made the lady pale and her dark, long hair seemed washed out. Coupled with the tired eyes with dark bags under them told Mei that the situation in the village was worse than when she'd left the week before last.

"Good morning, ma'am." At the familiar voice the owner's smile actually reached her eyes, making her look older than she was. "A table for four, if it isn't too much trouble?"

"Not at all. We're open." The owner replied. "Take the one in the corner and I'll get started on the tea."

"Mint, please." Mei requested before the owner could turn to the stove. Next, the young kunoichi settled herself at the usual table and stretched out her legs. They were tired and sore from her journey. In no time, with the scent of mint tea brewing and the warmth of breakfast being prepared, Mei fell asleep in the comfortable seat.

* * *

Mei awoke to the chatter of familiar voices. Well, more like to a familiar tone of an argument between her two teammates. She opened her eyes, blinked the sleep away and found them sitting at her table, one next to her and the other across.

"Even if they had a JoninJōnin, which isn't possible due to the problem level, the mission strategy would be a success. The diversion idea is flawless and the team gets out with a single casualty and the objective of the task." The boy sitting across from her spoke in his usual, calm tone. He was smiling, eyes shut in a way which made you think that he was always scheming. His hitai-ate was tied around his head, the traditional way, on his forehead, a few strands of his dark, spikey hair spilling over it. He wore tight things in shades of grey, black and purple, fortified with protective pinstriped underclothing, along with a sky-blue scarf around his neck. Altogether, when you spotted him in the street, he hid his strength and knowledge beyond his years perfectly with a boyish look. This was Tsubaki Sentarō, more commonly known as Sen-chan, the calculating leader of their three-man cell.

"Pft. Ridiculous." The pillow which Mei was leaning on rumbled. She realized that she was probably nestled on her teammate's shoulder. "There's no need for a distraction. Just a strong frontal attack. Kill them all as quickly as possible and you've got a completed mission with no casualties whatsoever."

By the rumbling low tone of his voice, which had broken last year, she knew who was pretending to be her pillow. He was a broad-shouldered, lean young man, with eyes as blue as the clear sky on a summer day, as Mei remembers it from her time with her parents. His hands were strong and fingers slim, showing an attractive number of veins against the pale skin. His hair was always a bit too long, to his shoulders, and his blond bangs fell into his eyes in strands. His hitai-ate hung around his neck and he usually wore clothes in red and grey tones, mostly forgoing the pinstriped material. He liked to say that he needed no protection, instead wearing a snug, cotton and fishnet, shirt under his baggy hoodie. Most people, though, remembered him by the katana which was always strapped to his back, a deadly blade in a beautiful decorate black sheath, called Sakurahime. This was the second member of Mei's team, the loose cannon who loved bloodshed a bit too much for anybody's liking, Norio.

"You'd get the whole team killed." Smirked Tsubaki, lowering his face towards his cup as he sipped his drink. He ignored the grumbling retort from his teammate with a clearly practiced, completely relaxed face. He didn't even flinch when the other Genin threatened that he would unsheathe his katana, the terrifying, yet beautiful Sakurahime.

"No fighting, Sen-chan, Norio-chan." Told them Mei, pushing away from her teammate's shoulder and sitting up straight. She gave Tsubaki a smile first, as he was sitting across from her. "Sen-chan is right, his strategy would be the most effective if you were solving this problem on a paper test." The shinobi beside her grumbled and Mei turned her head to him next. "While Norio-chan is also correct, as the difference in strength of different ranks of shinobi in other villages need to be taken into account during the mission. If the circumstances were right, blasting through with brute power could be an option, as well." The only kunoichi in the group yawned, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her palm. Mei, as the final piece of their three-man cell, was their moral compass and the glue which held the team together.

"True, but this is merely a paper problem, hence, mine is the correct answer." As usual, Tsubaki was relentless when he knew that he was right. Which was almost all the time.

"Hmph." Norio grumbled, but didn't engage his teammate further. Instead, he sipped his drink. "When will she be here?" He spoke after a minute, still sounding rather vexed from their earlier squabble. "It's already half past eight."

"I've been asleep for two hours?" Mei's eyes widened, strands of her hair whipping about her face as she turned to her teammate. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?" She pouted.

"You're always tired after making the journey, Mei-chan." Tsubaki answered from his seat. "It's best that you're as rested as possible for whatever comes next. We don't know if we'll be leaving on a mission or if we'll simply be training again."

"Besides, you need your beauty sleep." Norio piped up, smirking now. That always spelled trouble. "You'll never get married with a face like that." He reached up, flicking her forehead with his fingers. Mei grumbled, rubbing the sore spot, but didn't retaliate. She knew that Norio was, in plain terms, a bully. He insulted people around him in order to distance himself. But, deep inside, he cared. He'd showed that to her plenty of times. Just moments ago, she'd woken up from sleeping soundly on his shoulder, after all. And if you've ever let someone sleep on you, you know that doing so for a long period of time wasn't a comfortable feat. So, she let him get away with his hurtful comments.

"Sensei isn't here yet?" Mei asked, looking out the window, only to realize that it was pointless. As the morning came the fog in the village had gotten worse. The only thing she could see out the window was the faint yellow shimmer of the closest lamppost in the street. She couldn't even spot the shop on the opposite side of the road. "Should we worry?"

"She said seven." Tsubaki hummed, tilting his head while he thought. "Suppose we'll give her fifteen more minutes and then go to her flat?"

"You've been to her place?" Norio asked, surprised. He then smirked once more, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I see how it is." Tsubaki didn't even bat an eyelash at the quip, instead sipping the last of his tea.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, virgin boy." A new voice, melodic and delicate, gave a stern reprimand from their left. The three Genin turned to see their sensei standing in the shop, unwrapping a shawl from around her face. Norio couldn't help the blush which bloomed on his face, opting to look at his drink in order to hide it. The woman spoke the truth, after all.

"Sensei, please, sit down." Tsubaki jumped to his feet, heading to help the woman get seated across from his other two teammates. The Jōnin was a fairy tall and slim woman, always dressed in kimono-like dresses which accented her long legs. Her skin was white as snow, porcelain-like, a feat which many Kiri kunoichi strived to achieve. She usually pinned her long, ebony hair in a loose bun at the back of her head, leaving strands to spill out elegantly. Her lips were always red, as the reddest of roses, and her dark eyes held a kind glow to them as she looked at her students. This was their mentor and teacher, appointed by the Shinobi Arts Academy, and the team's voice of reason, Yano Mirai. Have we mentioned that she's also eight months pregnant?

"You worry too much, Sentarō." The woman scolded him, but she accepted the hand and allowed her student to help her get comfortable in the seat. "Alright, enough doting. You're not my husband. Where are the offerings?" If there was one thing which contradicted within the Jōnin, it was how she looked and what came out of her mouth. Yano Mirai came from the clan of the same name, one of the last in Kiri. She'd grown up with six brothers that came before her down the path of shinobi, as well as two who followed her footsteps. The only thing which was lady-like about her was her beauty, as Norio liked to point out.

"I'll order some sweets." Tsubaki remained on his feet, heading to the front of the store to get some 'offerings' for the baby, as their sensei liked to call it. In Mei's opinion, the woman was bearing through her pregnancy quite well so far. Tsubaki returned in record time with some mitarashi dango and sat down. Their sensei grabbed a stick and began eating, a look of pure pleasure on her face.

"Yanomira, what do you have planned for us?" Norio didn't wait for her to finish. As all three of them did, he used the nickname for their sensei which they had come up with in their first days of Genin training. By now, the woman herself had started introducing herself as such.

"Will you hold your horses, boy?" Their sensei grumbled, but she licked her fingers clean and continued explaining, regardless. "I've signed you up for Chūnin Exams." The woman dropped the metaphorical bomb. Tsubaki's smile left his face. Norio dropped a stick full of mitarashi dango on the table. Mei choked on her tea.

"The Chūnin Exams?" Asked Tsubaki, a frown on his face, as Norio clapped Mei on her back to help her breathe once more.

"The Chūnin Exams." Confirmed Yanomira with a nod, eating another row of dango. "Since we have done a number of D and E missions, I have decided that it's time." She nodded to herself once more, finishing the treat in record time. A smirk returned to Tsubaki's face, wider than before, as he placed his elbows on the table, chin in his hands. Norio's hands brushed along the strip of cloth which held his katana on his back, his own crooked smile promising bloodshed. Mei blinked once more, before gripping the hem of her kimono top in excitement. The air in the small shop seemed to become tick with anticipation.

"When will our special training begin, Yanomira-sensei?" Mei broke the silence.

"Today, we'll work on finishing the tasks which I gave you the week before last." Their sensei said, arranging the four empty sticks neatly on her plate. "Then, you shall have time to prepare for the Exams accordingly."

"How long have you known about the Exams, sensei?" Asked Tsubaki, his brows furrowing. Yanomira looked mildly offended at the blatant accusation.

"I've known that I would register you for a month or so now. That last mission that you completed showed me that you were ready. But, the invitation came from Konohagakure last week." She explained. "We are by no means on friendly terms with the Leaf shinobi, but Yondaime has agreed to send a team. Purely out of courtesy. I want that team to be you." There were varying degrees of shock on the faces of the Genin as they exchanged looks.

"We're going to Konoha?" Mei exclaimed, astonished. Normally, the Chūnin Exams were held internally in their village, to preserve their techniques and keep them secret. The Exams were also a bloody affair, much more so than the former graduation ceremony.

"Well, that will be interesting." Tsubaki mumbled, chewing on the end of one of the dango sticks, attempting to suck out all the sweetness from it. "With the current situation in our village, I doubt that we're popular guests anywhere. Especially in Konoha."

"What do you mean?" The young kunoichi asked. She wasn't too good at following politics, since she lived in a secluded temple. Rather, she focused on her studies and hoped that the new developments and problems wouldn't affect her lifestyle too much.

"Konoha does things a bit differently than Kiri, Mei-chan." Said Yanomira. "They have taken on a rather soft approach to their students in the recent years. Specifically, since the death of their Yondaime Hokage."

"So, what you should imagine is a shinobi village without all the mist and all the blood." Grinned Norio, loosening his precious Sakurahime from his back and placing the long katana on his lap. His smirk widened. "It'd be an honor to paint it a beautiful crimson."

Suddenly, the air became tense. It was hard to breathe. "You will do no such thing." Yanomira's voice was tight, a swift warning, reminding the three young Genin exactly who she was. The blond boy glared back, trying to fight the sheer power and murderous intent that he was under. But, to no avail. Norio looked away, giving up the stare down and the argument along with it.

"So, how will the team be selected for the Exams?" Mei asked, cutting the tense silence. The pressure vanished immediately, their sensei giving her usual, cheerful smile.

"I'm glad that you asked." She moved a bit, her hand going to her swollen stomach. Mei instantly moved to get up and help her, but Yanomira put a hand up, stopping her. "The good thing is that- aaah that's much better-" she exclaimed with a sigh of relief as she found the perfect position. "that the Kage will be personally looking into your scores, mission count and abilities himself." Then, she frowned a bit. "The bad thing is that that will be the only thing which he will be looking into."

"There will be no test?" Asked Norio with a frown.

"As far as I know, there won't." Yanomira said. "It is a bit of a surprise, really, that our village has received an invitation at all. We haven't been on good terms with Konohagakure for a long time."

"More like, with any shinobi village." Norio huffed, tracing the sakura petals on the sheath of his katana.

"That is true." Yanomira furrowed her eyebrows, which did nothing to impede her beauty in Mei's opinion. "Our relations have always been testy at best and borderline hostile at most." Then, the sensei smiled brightly once more. "So, this will be a great opportunity for us to show that the times are changing and that we have progressed since the 'Bloody Mist'. The political, diplomatic aspect of this mission will give it a C rank."

A silence ensued. All three young Genin were well aware just how much those words were wrong. Kirigakure hadn't forgotten its past, nor had it moved much from it. The situation was still the same, despite Yondaime's attempts at outward diplomacy. The caste system was still strong. The bloodshed during their tests still in abundance. They were still living in Chigiri no Sato, no matter how much the grownups wanted to mask the reality. Mei knew that the best. After all, each time she traveled home, she would be reminded of the fact.

"Is there anything that we can do to ensure that we are sent on this mission?" Mei asked after a while, not looking up from her cup of tea. It was a somber atmosphere whenever that particular topic was mentioned, and there was simply no helping it. The young kunoichi glanced left and right to her teammates, noticing that Norio's glance had become blank somehow, still focused on his katana, as if he was far away in his thoughts. Tsubaki, on the other hand, wasn't smiling anymore, which was like a constant, painted expression on his face. He looked unnatural with a worried face.

"There is nothing much that you can do, except be ready if there is an impromptu test." Yanomira sighed, once more moving in her seat to find a better spot. "So, after you finish the special training menu, you will revise the abilities and capabilities of your fellow Genin, making strategies how you can defeat each team." Their sensei spoke with a certain finality to her tone. "I also want you to think about all the Jutsu which you are accustomed to using and how you can incorporate them into your own, unique, style." When the three Genin shared a pained look, their teacher smiled. "Dismissed!" With that, she stood, a hand on Tsubaki's shoulder helping her up. And their sensei left them sitting in the tea shop alone, in a rather somber atmosphere. It was broken by the sound of Tsubaki's head hitting the table, as he fell asleep. Norio and Mei shared a look of exasperation and amusement at their teammate's state.

* * *

Mei's entire body ached as she dragged herself along the road with Norio beside her. The mist had gotten a bit thinner, allowing them to see more than just a meter ahead of them. The shinobi beside her grumbled something about Yanomira being the devil incarnate, but Mei didn't have the strength to reply. Their sensei had made the most challenging possible training menu for them a few weeks ago. It had a variety of basic exercises, such as simple replacement techniques and applying Chakra to one's feet while walking up a wall or tree. Then, it had more advanced Jutsu which each of them specialized in. Their individual schedules were coupled with short breaks for food while doing stamina training, such as crouches or push-ups. And, in the end, three fights against one another had been scheduled for each day, with only the Jutsu practiced that day being allowed during combat. As this was the last day of the training, luckily, Mei could already feel her spirit breaking. Their sensei was definitely the devil incarnate.

"Home sweet home." Exclaimed Norio in a tired huff as he unlocked the front gate of the building where his apartment was. The two teammates climbed the row of stairs in silence, heading for the door which seemed to almost glow to them, like heaven. Norio unlocked it and they both stumbled in, dropping as soon as they reached the clean hardwood.

"Are you okay?" Mei asked a few moments later, when she could actually feel all of her limbs. She wriggled a bit, so that she could face her friend on the floor beside her.

"Like hell." Norio replied in a huff. Mei could see a large bruise on his forehead forming where Tsubaki had managed to land a solid kick to his head. It had, unfortunately for Norio, ended their match, which meant that he'd had to complete the penalty for the day: a hundred squats. Mei, though, had managed to win against a very tired Norio afterwards, making him do another hundred squats, and she'd lost against Tsubaki, who was simply too quick for her. Long story short, her Taijutsu needed serious work.

"Let me take a look at that." The girl managed to push herself up, tilting her friend's head and looking at the bleeding bruise. "It doesn't seem too bad. A little antiseptic and ointment and you'll be right as rain. Come on." When Norio gave a grunt, but didn't move, Mei sighed and offered him a small smile. Shaking her head she took off her standard issue shinobi sandals and then proceeded to take his off, too. Next, she dragged her friend further into his own home, ignoring the bubbling chuckles coming from him. Mei somehow managed to pull him up onto the only sofa in his living room, while Norio was almost crying from laughter at her pathetic attempts to hoist him up onto his feet. Finally, the kunoichi was able to treat his only serious wound. When she was finished, Norio gently removed her hands from the bandage, moving into a more comfortable position on the sofa.

"Take the bed. I'm not moving from this spot." And who said chivalry was dead?

* * *

**That's all folks!**


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